ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – Henderson State's suffocating defense held the Tigers to their second-lowest shooting percentage of the season, 34.5 percent, on the way to a 10-point win.
Matthew Mayes' 18 points off of the bench helped propel the Reddies past the Tigers for the second time this season. Once again, paint dominance led HSU past an opponent: Henderson scored 40 points in the paint compared to just 26 for the Tigers.
Playing at home for just the second time in two weeks, the Reddies started off hot.
Xavier Owens got his team going, scoring four of HSU's first six points and assisting on a
Rondae Hill three to open the game on an 11-4 run. Hill led all players in assists with six.
An East Central run brought the game back within two going into the half. At the half, the Reddies' bench had outscored the Tigers' bench 13-8, but Henderson would extend that to a 30-19 advantage by the end of the game.
Coming out of the break, the Tigers were able to pull within one possession after making a three-pointer just after the 18-minute mark. For the next two minutes, the game went back-and-forth. The Reddie defense forced 12 turnovers in the second half alone.
At the 7:15 mark, ECU connected on a three-pointer to cut the lead to seven. From that point on, HSU went on a scoring streak highlighted by an Owens layup, a Mayes dunk, and an Igiehon dunk, extending the lead to 13 points and forcing an East Central timeout.
The Reddies closed out the Tigers with a Mayes layup and a pair of free throws from Hill.
Henderson had six players record a plus-minus rating of at least plus-five. Owens led all players with plus-14.
The Reddies held the reigning GAC Offensive Player of the Week, Nikk Williams, to just seven points on three-of-eight shooting from the field. East Central went into the night with the highest team field goal percentage in the conference but, after facing HSU, now sits in fourth in that category.
The Reddies held the Tigers below 40 percent shooting from the field in both meetings this season. East Central has shot below 40 percent just three times total in 2024-25.
Top Performers:
Matthew Mayes 18 pts., 2 bocks and +12 +/-.
Xavier Owens: 11 pts, 6 rbs., +14 +/-.
The Reddies look to complete the season sweep versus Southeastern Oklahoma State on Saturday, February 1, at 3 p.m.
